Miss New Hampshire USA & Teen USA 2016 will be crowned this Sunday.  Contestant numbers are posted here (miss) and here (teen), they have dropped in each division but are still higher than their neighbours in VT which is holding its pageant the same day.

Most notable in the Miss division is the return of Miss New Hampshire Teen USA 2005 Brittany Dube.  Brittany is competing for Miss NH USA for the first time but has previously competed in Miss NH (MAO).  Should she win she would tie Miss Maine USA 2011 Ashley Marble for the longest gap between Teen and Miss.  I think this will be the very last time we see a 2005 Teen on the Miss stage!

There are a number of past runners-up competing this year as well: from last year first runner-up Sarah Mousseau is back, 2012 second runner-up Rebecca Scalera and Miss RI USA 2013 first runner-up Jessica Strohm.

Returning 2015 semi-finalists are Allissa Latham and Katherine Doyle.

​The only returning contestant in the Teen division is 2015 second runner-up Destiny Donahue, who was also 2RU in 2013.

Miss Arkansas USA & Teen USA 2016 will be crowned this Sunday in Bentonville, Arkansas.  The pageants will be streamed at www.pageantvision.com.  For now, contestant photos are posted here, although official photos and gown pics will be released after arrivals.

In the Miss division, three of last year's runners-up are back, two of whom are former Miss Arkansas Teen USA titleholders.  2009 Teen titleholder  Allison Kusenberger has made the top five the past four years, placing second or third runner-up each time.  Third runner-up last year was Miss AR Teen USA 2013 Abby Floyd, who was one of the first 2013 Teens to come back for Miss.  She recently got engaged so this might be her last shot!  The third returning runner-up is Sierra Gorton, 4RU last year, who was also a semi-finalist in the 2013 Teen pageant with Abby.  The only returning semi-finalists are  Skyla Weeks who made top fifteen in the Teen contest last year and Haley Pontius, another 2013 Teen semi-finalist.  There are a number of non-finalists back, including Tarole Harris who last competed in Hawaii in 2012.

​Last year's Teen competition was super special with four stunning blondes and a brunette duking it out in the top five - the crown could easily have gone to any one of them - so I'm sad that only Makenzie Sexton is the only returning runner-up!  In fact, out of 42 contestants (ten more than last year) there are only three returning contestants, Mackenzie, semi-finalist Courtlyn Jackson and non-finalist Alexandria Paladino.